Food Valley tests climate-resistant wheat for pasta's future

In the flat, fog-prone plains of Emilia-Romagna, the region Italians call the Food Valley, researchers are working on the pasta of the future: wheat varieties bred to withstand the hotter, drier summers that are increasingly reshaping the Po Valley's agricultural calendar. According to a report by France 24, the work focuses on the main ingredient of the world's most beloved staple, testing grains that can hold up under climate stress.

The research comes as Italy endures its fourth heatwave of the summer, with all 27 major cities placed under red alert and temperatures in some areas edging close to 40C, as the Guardian reported. For a region whose identity is built on Parmigiano-Reggiano, prosciutto di Parma and balsamic vinegar, the resilience of durum wheat is not an abstract concern but a question of economic survival.